"Chrollo, you brat! You absolute snake!"
"A low blow?! That's a move for kids in a playground fight!"
Shiki, his voice now several octaves higher like a startled rooster, spat out curses with a face twisted in agonizing pain. He clutched his groin, looking like he was enduring the weight of the entire world on his shattered pride.
"Hahahaha!" Chrollo pointed at him, laughing without a shred of mercy. "Your eggs are cracked, old man!"
Then, without missing a beat, he lunged again, aiming right for the same spot.
"I'm going to kill you, Chrollo!! I will tear you apart!"
Shiki's rage was white-hot. Using the momentum from the impact, he finally managed to put some distance between them. As his Armament Haki flared and hardened across his entire body, the strange magnetic pull Chrollo had placed on him finally dissipated.
Shiki rose slowly, hovering high above the archipelago. He looked down at Chrollo with cold, indifferent eyes—the eyes of a predator who had finally stopped playing around.
---
> "It doesn't matter how many tricks you have up your sleeve," Shiki rasped. "Every ability user has one absolute, inescapable weakness... Seawater."
> "Die! Witness my true power!"
> "I don't just control the land. I control the ocean itself—"
> "Lion's Threat: Sea Fall!"
---
As Shiki slammed his hands downward, the ocean surrounding the floating islands began to boil. Massive bubbles erupted from the depths. Then, while Bonney and the others watched in horror, the sea literally rose.
Five gargantuan, roaring lions made of thousands of tons of seawater surged into the sky, encircling the island and forming a crushing, air-tight canopy of blue.
"We're dead... we're so dead!" Bonney whimpered.
But then, she paused. Her expression turned strange. Wait... I'm a fruit user, so I'm toast. But Chrollo? She remembered clearly that aside from Uvogin, who just got his fruit, none of these "Spider" people seemed to care about the ocean. Especially that black-hearted man in the sky. Did he even have a weakness?
---
"There is no escaping an attack of this scale!" Shiki yelled triumphantly. "Seawater is the ultimate counter to any fruit! Once the water drains your strength and breaks your gimmicks, let's see you try to talk big!"
"Jahahaha! Victory is mine!"
"FALL—!"
Rumble—!
The massive lions of water collapsed inward like a crashing sky. Tectonic weights of seawater poured down in a relentless deluge, threatening to drown the entire island. Chrollo's figure was quickly swallowed by the blue abyss.
Shiki watched, his face a mask of sadistic glee. "Tremble... give up... wait for death in the cold dark—"
Splash!
The water fell, soaking Chrollo through to the bone. Shiki watched, waiting for the brat to lose his flight and plummet. But as the waves cleared, Chrollo was still there. He was still standing on the air, Moonwalking with perfect ease, looking as dry and unbothered as a man in a light drizzle.
"?" Shiki tilted his head, his brain failing to compute.
Kid, when I look at you with a question mark, it's not because I'm confused. it's because I'm questioning your very existence.
"Why... why is the seawater not working?!" Shiki roared in fury.
"Why is it ineffective?" Chrollo gave a half-smile, looking up at the legend. "Did I forget to mention? I'm not a Devil Fruit user."
Chrollo's powers were Nen. Even the Age-Age Fruit ability he was currently using was a "borrowed" property through [Plunder]. He had the power, but none of the biological drawbacks. To the ocean, he was just a regular human.
"Actually, this is perfect," Chrollo noted, glancing at the swirling water around them. "Thanks to you, I don't have to put in nearly as much effort to finish this."
"Instant Displacement—"
Zip—!
Chrollo had already marked Shiki with an anchor point earlier in the fight. Now that Shiki's Haki was flickering due to his waning stamina, the ability took hold.
Chrollo snapped his fingers, swapping Shiki's position with a single drop of the falling seawater.
In a literal blink, the Golden Lion found himself encased in the very element he had summoned to destroy his enemy. Shiki let out a muffled scream of horror, but Chrollo didn't give him an inch. Chrollo didn't fear the water, but for a fruit user like Shiki... it was a death sentence.
"This ocean you called up... it's going to be your tomb, Shiki."
Chrollo flickered behind him, his palm outstretched.
"Indoor Fish—"
Whoosh—!
A transparent, cubic space materialized around the struggling Shiki. But unlike the regular version, Chrollo allowed the surrounding seawater to fill the void.
Shiki was trapped in a perfect, airless, water-filled prison. He thrashed weakly, his hands clawing at his throat as the water filled his lungs and nose. Oxygen vanished. Strength drained. The legendary pirate's eyes rolled back... and he drifted into unconsciousness.
---
Chrollo stood there, watching the floating cube, his chest heaving with excitement.
The Pirate Admiral. The legend who rivaled Roger. The man who escaped Impel Down.
Golden Lion Shiki... Captured.
---
Technique Breakdown
| Ability | Type | Effect in this Fight |
| --- | --- | --- |
| [Indoor Fish] | Conjuration | Creates a sealed space. By filling it with seawater, it acts as a permanent "stasis" cage for Devil Fruit users. |
| [Instant Displacement] | Specialist | Used to teleport Shiki directly into the center of the water mass. |
| [Distorted Future] | Buff | Granted Chrollo S-rank stats and Top-tier Haki for the 10-minute duration. |
---
Below, the Troupe members wore smiles of simple, quiet satisfaction. To them, this was the natural order of things. No matter the legend, if the Leader marked them as "prey," they were as good as caught.
Meanwhile, Bonney's face was a masterpiece of shock. Her jaw was practically unhinged, and her eyes looked like they were ready to fly out of her head. She stared at the captured "God of the Skies" and then at Chrollo.
He's a monster, she thought, a chill running down her spine. He's a complete and total monster.
---